This was an emotional night for me and about a dozen other Heads starting our sophomore year at SUNY Binghamton. 40 years ago today, one of our best buddies and for me a future housemate at a classic Binghamton mansion not a half mile down the road from the Broome County Arena, and a true lover of the GD, lost his life in a senseless accident when he was run down by a drunk driver while biking home from his summer job back home in Utica. Larry surely would have been at this show, the great return to the town where the historic, and legendary in those parts, Harpur '70 show occurred (Unfortunately, with the band having inspired total mayhem on campus after that May 1970 event, the GD were forever banned from campus and hence the Broome County Arena locale for the 1977 return). So Larry was on our collective minds when the lights went down and not only did they play one of the finest first sets that I would ever witness, but it seemed like every tune was chosen from Larry's list of all time favorites! From the 1/2 Step opener, to FOTD, Me & My Uncle, Jack Straw, Direwolf, and Tenessee Jed--it was crazy. And a total freakout! And then the closing jam of Music Never Stopped, when those lights came up we were just stunned. Then comes the second set. As many have noted, the playing was not quite up to the level of the first set, great moments but uneven, and there was a good reason for this--the boys definitely had a party of their own backstage cause they came out visibly wasted like I'd never seen before or after (but not in a bad way!) I was literally leaning on the stage in front of Jerry so I had direct evidence-- They were in a mood, from Billy staggering up to the microphone, joint in mouth, asking for a light (!), to Jerry nearly falling off the stage during the solo in Wharf Rat, to them obliging to the audience member passing up to the stage the street sign for "ST. Stephens Place", and the spontaneous reworking of the set in recognition. After taking the sign, Bobby called a little huddle with Phil & Jerry, and being so close, even with the crown noise, I was able to hear the conversation, with Bobby stating "OK, Stephen, Not Fade, Wharf Rat, back to Stephen, Truckin") and for the only time in my life, I actually knew what the Dead were going play before hearing it! Holy Shit!
After the show, we threw a huge party at our house down the road from the Arena, with many Heads wandering in, and we partied until the sun came up the next day. Maybe one of you happened by that night? I sure wish Larry could have been there, but I swear they played that first set just for him. I'll never forget it, or Larry.

Apologies--For not listening to the whole show yet and still doing a review.

Love the 1/2 step, but I got too anxious to hear another great Scarlet Fire from 77, so I skipped to it.

The first time I listened to it, about two years ago, I was disappointed. There was a little slop here and there, especially in the beginning--as one head below points out, there was a guitar being tuned early in Begonias, and much of the transition just floats around a while. Finally going back to reevaluate this ScarFire today, I am not disappointed, anymore. There are some long segments around the transition that have next to no energy, but much of it is just beautiful and even intense. There really is some tremendous jamming in this SF.

I also must have more appreciation for all of the relics we are so fortunate to have easy access to. I recently read an article called "What's Become of the Bettys" which gave me insight to how lucky we all really are to have so many live Dead recordings. Since I've loved the Dead I've been trading tapes, but compared to what we can now access on the archive, only a few, such as the Barton Hall 2nd set and a few other boards I had, had such great quality. If you tend to take these recordings for granted, you should read that article.

Yes, I agree with Mr. White in his evaluation of this show. There are some incredible highs and some really poor lows. The Scarlet Begonias is definitely a botched performance. After the first verse, Jerry realizes he has gone out of tune and starts to pluck a string without singing. This throws him off for the rest of the tune, which is a shame as Keith really showed up ready to play. His work on Scarlet is impressive, and Bobby is playing reasonably well. He is doing the little plucks in Scarlet that I love in UJB. FOTM is good, aside from the lyrical flubs, but in '77 there are many, many better performances. St. Stephen and Truckin' might be above average, and the first set it decent. A good show but with a few disappointments.

Not really sure where to begin with this as it was one of the first Dead tapes I had and there is lots of memories connected with it.

So 30 years later how does it sound? Can I possibly be objective in my sober, adult mind? Who knows.

The show is a contradiction to be now. I hear so many flubs, ill pitched vocals and sloppy playing more than as a kid, but I can still catch the vibe of this very indelible show. It's the tempo of it that is unshakable. At times I think it's 76' slow and other times I can't believe how rocking it is. Is there a more energetic (Pre 87') Half Step? Jack Straw? Music Never Stopped equally rocking with a just the right amount of spaciness. First set overall is just fun.

The second set is an enigma and really exemplifies the duality of the Dead for me as just a great rock band with plenty of faults and a unique art form that was ever evolving.

Sampson is great (Yeah, ok, we know it was great hence all the gushing about the show and the band and the review) as any of the first set songs. Totally rocking. And then-

OK for all the Donna writing I do here, this version of Sunrise has forever give her a pass for any cackling over Playin, et. al. It really is just terrific and the band is right behind her the whole way. I've said it countless times, but it just takes a collective belief in the material (at the same time) to make any material come alive and this time it works beautifully.

This Scarlett -Fire transition is gorgeous despite some decision making and the band just spacing out for a while. Actually much of the Scarlett is sloppy, but yes, we've already established this show isn't all about being tight. The first solo is classic and had etched in my mind the quintessential Jerry playing. It just seems to have come out of nowhere. Who would have thought that this guy who can't remember the words to his own song would bust out so confidently. But is that down time supposed to be a piano solo? Scratch that, it has to be as evidence from what happens later in the set. It's all about the transition of this one though. They just let it pulse. Everyone stays back as if it's torture to not give it everything. Only the drums stay consistent with Phil holding down the melody. Yes, the bass player is holding the melody. Overall this is a veteran band acting as maturely and confident as could ever be asked of a bunch of rockers. Oh, but Keith, couldn't you just have gotten it together just a bit more on this one?

St. Stephen onward towards it's coda, is again into magic Dead in that it moves into the territory that challenges the listener to go to that other world. One big song with some diversions as if to ask ones self, "Did that really happen" or Where did I go?"

There in lies the enigma, however, because much of that music really isn't played all that well. Still, who said it had to be tight to be magical? The main problem seems to come from Keith who manages to approach his playing as a percussionist in this part of the set. Not Fade shows Keith reverting into a monkey with a vague sense of timing and having strict teacher with a bunch of bananas. Seriously he's just pounding out chords from the beginning of Fire through the end of the show. It's just outright painful, yet the byproduct is actually kind of hypnotic. Not sure if I have heard any other shows that demonstrate this.

Oh, but Jerry comes to the rescue again with yet another undeniable and indelible lead that has again epitomized The Grateful Dead to me till this day. That doesn't necessarily mean it's the finest, but it just seems to have been played as if for the first time. Ballsy, elegant, tasteful, tuneful and then gone. Back to another mediocre Fire and band that sounds as if they don't know how long they've been playing or when it will end. And then another sick Jerry riff. Again as if from out of nowhere or defiant towards the rest of the group. But then a rocking Good Love. Strange set.

To me this set is one I will always cherish with great memories and listen to with fondness- Though if it happens to be in my car, it will be with the windows rolled up.

Thanks once again to Mr. Hunter S. for this matrix - you get everything in tact with this recording and it's the one I prefer for this show -

Set 1 - the Half-Step opener wows, and to follow that with Straw is just divine. Not a huge fan of the uptempo Jeds from '77, but they play it adequately. Check out that absolutely invisible transition between Mexicali and Uncle! WOW!

Rest of the set is adequate enough -

Set 2 - Samson, as usual for '77, is a rocket of awesomeness - Scarlet > Fire is note-perfect, despite some lyrical trouble from Jerry (which never really matters on Fire anyways...)

The suite has some fun transitions - for me the real juice of this thing is the Truckin' finale with Jerry just indulging in the blues - this is a jam with total finesse and purpose!

Overall another spectacular '77 show, great way to close out the fall run.

My first bootleg, only the first set. Half-step was the door to all that followed. So much thanks for the archive to provide completeness to my Dead desires.

I'm sorry to say, this second set doesn't do it for me. It's a disappointment after a very strong first set bookended by a colossal Half-Step and an incendiary Music. The latter features one of the longest middle jams of 70's renditions (that 3/4 section in B that comes just before the closing rave-up).

Unfortunately, the 2nd set has a less-than-impressive set list and performance. Scarlet>Fire is the typical mellow 77 version without the 5/8-ish crescendo. St. Stephen is starting to get interesting when they cut it off for a drum break. Not Fade Away is neither fast nor long. Wharf Rat is well played, but it's a mid-tempo stomp after a set full of mostly mid-tempo stuff. Truckin' is another mid-tempo stomp, but they do build a lot of energy with the start-stop action and then peak after peak leading to a furious climax.

I'm generally more a fan of May-June 77 than the fall. Four stars on the strength of the first set and Truckin'.

This is a very nice matrix by Hunter Seamons (and is available on the internet for the diligent seeker), and as such, this is my favorite version of this show (though perhaps Hunter might even update this if he can ever improve on it with better sources or technology, as is his wont, occasionally... we should be so blessed, or an official release!).
Quality show all around. It's got energy (and plenty of it!), lots of peaks large and small, and a bit of random abandon, especially in the vocal department, and Phil moving like a frenzied sand worm beneath the hot onstage musical desert, ("Blues For Allah" influence still felt, though more mildly) at times various and sundry.
Everything one could want in a Dead show, with virtually EVERY member showing up to play this night, and the crowd is RIGHT THERE propelling the band along!
Reviewer: Eric "Jerry's Kid" Andreasen - 4.00 out of 5 Stars - December 26, 2010 Avg. Rating 4.5
Subject: ESSENTIAL! GREAT FOUR-STAR SHOW!
Transition between the cowboy tunes is EXCELLENT (never heard one like it before) and "New Minglewood Blues" (Bob's next song vocal) SMOKES! Listen to that funky riff Jerry is playing behind Bob's vocals on the last set of verses, very cool and hot!
To my ears, the band started sounding a little "thicker" and "chunkier" after Spring '77. Many of the peak moments this fall are kind of tucked away (Phil is all over the place!) and occur during a lot of the ensemble playing. "Tennessee Jed" has a NICE build-up by Garcia and Company (and listen to Bob gently goading it on as Garcia plays the lead, that Bob, he's a crafty devil! ...on his good nights!)

Over all a great, consistent, solid show with a LOT of little highlights here and there, and some BIG JAMS!!!

One of the gems of Fall '77 for sure!

CAVEAT: I'm listening to Hunter Seamons' matrix of this SBD and two AUDS (one by Moore & Minches). I'm rating this source 5 to balance out the 4 I gave to the Jerry Moore AUD. So, in total, I'm giving it 4.67 stars...

I came across these Seamons matrix recordings the other day and all I can say is WOW! INCREDIBLE! UNBELIEVABLE! If you've never listened to these concerts, drop whatever you're doing now (hopefully you're not feeding a baby) and listen to them. I think my favorite moment for this particular concert is the St. Stephen...Wharf Rat jam, fan-freakin-tastic. Thank you Hunter Seamons whoever you are, and keep up the good work.

I had the 2nd set of this show as an audience years back and the screams,howls and passionate clapping of the trippin Dead Heads really vaulted this show into historic prominence. This audience is, sadly,from a different source so you don't get that specific mayhem but the energy is almost there. Just about every song has a that moment of orgasmic frenzy, it starts off with 1/2 Step, with Jerry peaking out and Keith slamming the keys and playing those full sweeps of the entire piano keys.He contines this high energy the entire night. Tennessee, Minglewood, Passenger and Music follow in that same pattern. Set two offers some must listen moments, A passionate reading of Samson,Sunrise is good too, a jubilent Scarlet and the final jam in Fire,which is a shorter version of the song. A mid set Good Lovin that is on fire and the epic St. Stepehn> NFA> Wharf Rat> St. Stephen reprise> Truckin' is a blast. The Truckin is off the track and peaks out twice and the closing crashing chords clearly sealed this show's fate.

Hunter, you are incredible. I thought, as fans, we couldn't do much better than a crisp soundboard recording, but I was wrong. You've turned me into a matrix snob. Thanks for all your hard work. This sounds great!!